HomeMy Public PortalAbout04/17/01 CCM95
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF APRIL 17, 2001
The City Council of Medina, Minnesota met in regular session on April 17, 2001 at 7:30 p.m. in
the City Hall Chambers. Mayor John Ferris presided.
Members present: Ferris, Smith, Workman, Zietlow, and Lane at 8:45 p.m.
Members absent: None.
Also present: Police Chief Ed Belland, Attorney Ron Batty, Public Works Director Jim Dil!man,
City Engineer Tom Kellogg, Administrator Clerk -Treasurer Paul Robinson, and Planning &
Zoning Administrator Loren Kohnen at 11:00 p.m.
1. Additions to the Agenda
A. Approval of a set up license for the American Legion.
B. Appointment to the Pioneer/Sarah Creek second generation management plan task force.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve the agenda as amended.
Motion passed unanimously.
2. Comments from Residents in Attendance on Items Not on the Agenda
There were none.
3. Park Commission Comments
There were none.
4. Planning Commission Comments
Tom Supel said that there were a number of items that will be on the Planning Commission
agenda. There will be a Public Hearing on the PUD Concept Plan for a Cudd development on
CR 101, a couple of variance requests, and a hearing on the Uptown Hamel Ordinance and
Rezoning.
5. Presentation by Carolyn Dindorf and Gene Meisbauer of the Hennepin Conservation
District on the Elm Creek Waterway Analysis
Caroyln Dindorf and Gene Meisbauer presented the findings of their analysis of Elm Creek.
They said they analyzed a number of the streams within the Elm Creek Watershed District
including the portion of Elm Creek that is in Medina. They briefly explained the technical details
of their analysis and talked about several of the site locations they surveyed in the City of
Medina.
Then, using a Power Point presentation, they showed some of the areas they surveyed, and
presented recommendations for improving several areas along Elm Creek in Medina. This
included areas that could use a better buffering system, where currently there are lawns, areas
where there are blowouts occurring that need more significant repair work, and culverts that
could be resized and possibly relocated. They talked about using low flow culverts. These
types of culverts provide a deeper section allowing streams to continue to flow even in low water
conditions.
There was some discussion about other ways to improve Elm Creek. Dindorf said they have
been contacted by some of the property owners along Elm Creek who are interested in restoring
portions of the creek. She said it is expensive and the watershed does not have a lot of money
to offset the cost of the restoration at this time, however, they are very willing to work with cities
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and to provide additional information and recommendations for improving the quality of Elm
Creek or provide any further information as needed by the City.
6. Establishment of a Task Force to Create the Second Generation Watershed
Management Plans for Both the Pioneer/Sarah Creek and Elm Creek Watershed
Districts
Robinson said the City recently received a letter regarding this issue. He said he meant to put it
in the Friday Report, but forgot. He said the watershed districts were requesting Councils to
appoint people to this task force. He said that Don Johnston, the current Pioneer/Sarah Creek
Watershed representative, was here this evening and was interested in being appointed to the
task force.
Mr. Johnston said this task force is scheduled to meet four to five times over the next eight
months. He said the watersheds have hired WSB as a consultant to develop the second
generation plan. He said some of the meetings will be open to the public and others will not.
7. Approval of the Set -Up License for the American Legion
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Bruce Workman, to approve the license. Motion
passed unanimously.
8. Request for Approval of the Preliminary Design for County Road 101 and Approval to
Acquire the Necessary Right of Way
Craig Twinem, Bruce Polaczyk, and Bruce Breingard were in attendance from Hennepin
County. Craig described the preliminary layout of CR 101 from County Road 47 down to Trunk
Highway 55.
Twinem said a resolution was included in the Council packets. He said the resolution would
authorize them to move forward with acquiring the necessary right of way for the preliminary
design, and also have the City agree to ban parking along County Road 101.
Mr. Twinem said they are proposing to construct a two-lane road with a center lane for turning.
He said they are also proposing that this section of 101 include curb and gutter. He said this
would be the furthest west they will have gone with an suburban type road in the county. He
said that they have spoken with property owners along the road. One of the property owners
impacted, Mr. Dorweiler, would have his driveway relocated and an extensive retaining wall
constructed along the west side of the property. He said included in the design was also an
area for a box culvert to allow a trail to go under 101 at the creek next to the Wild Meadows
Development. He said they were trying to limit the number of roads accessing 101 as well as
the spacing between those roads. He talked about some of the concept roads that were being
proposed by the City of Plymouth and where they may end up accessing County Road 101.
Twinem said at this time they are not planning on providing a bike trail, however, there will be an
area within the right of way that would be prepared for a future bike trail.
He said because of some of the alignment issues, this project does extend over into Sioux
Drive. Therefore, the County will be improving a portion of the City road including sidewalks on
both sides of Sioux Drive from TH 55 up to the railroad tracks.
Bill Ciora asked what the speed limit would be.
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Craig Twinem said that the current speed limit is 50 mph, however, this roadway is being
designed at 45 miles per hour with curb and gutter.
Carolyn Smith asked if 45 miles per hour would be for the entire length.
Craig Twinem responded that it would be.
There was some concern about the location of the trail in respect to the roadway.
Craig Twinem said approximately eight feet. However, if you included the paved shoulder it
would be around 14 1/2 feet from the traffic.
Marc Anderson asked if the County was still designing the road to be four lanes in the future.
Twinem said, yes, at some point in the future, it could be as long as 20 years, it is hard to
predict, the road could be striped for four lanes. He said when that occurs, the trail would be
closer to the traffic, due to restriping, reducing the shoulder area.
Julius Dorweiler said that he was not if favor of the current design for CR 101. He did not like
the proposed driveway access since it would not allow him to turn around with his trailer and
would cut out a large portion of this pasture. He said it basically takes away the usefulness of
his property.
Dorweiler was also not interested in being required to access CR 101 through the development
to the north. He wanted a separate access onto his property from 101. He was also not
interested in having a frontage road cut through his property as shown in the City's concepts
plan in the recent traffic study.
Craig Twinem said, currently, the proposed frontage road links up through the Cudd property
and does not go down to the Dorweiler property, however, there will be one or two accesses
from the Cudd property going south into (Dorweiler's) property.
Dorweiler thought it was not fair for his access to be dictated by a development in another
property. He also raised concerns about stormwater problems.
Craig Twinem said that as a part of this development, they would have to provide adequate
areas for ponding.
Jim Lane arrived. (8:45 p.m.)
There was considerable amount of discussion between the County and Julius Dorweiler
concerning issues with alignment and CR 101 improvement.
Bruce Workman said he was concerned that whatever action the Council takes tonight that they
consider the long-term landowners in the City and their access, both current and future,
especially to the multi -family residential zone.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve Resolution 01-21 presented,
with the conditions that the County come back and report to the City by June 5 on their right of
way acquisition, layout design, and ability to work out any right of way and access issues with
the landowners in a fashion amenable to both. Motion passed unanimously.
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9. Approval of an Agreement Between MnDOT and Hennepin County for Trunk Highway
55 Improvements and Frontage Road
Jim Dillman said that he went through the agreement and it was lacking some provisions that
were in the previous agreement. He said the City's liability for relocating the utilities was
supposed to be capped at $10,000. Dillman thought this could be worked out.
Ron Batty said, in the past, this agreement included an appendix explaining the cost sharing.
This was not included in this version of the agreement.
Paul Robinson asked if it would be possible for the Council to approve the agreement with the
stipulation that we make sure the utility cost is capped at $10,000, and that the attorney review
the agreement for the Mayor and Clerk sign it .
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Bruce Workman, to approve Resolution 01-22 approving
the agreement with those stipulations. Motion passed unanimously.
10.2001 Tree Program
Jim Dillman asked the Council if they wanted to continue the tree program. He said that it costs
around $5,000.00. In the past that money came from the Spring Hill Golf Club's contribution to
the Environmental Fund. Phil Zietlow said that $3,000 was also contributed by Woodridge
Church.
The consensus of the Council was to continue the tree program using funds out of the
Environmental Fund.
Next year Carolyn Smith said that she would like the Council to consider adding tree plantings
along public right of ways, potentially in the Uptown Hamel area or other areas of the City.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve $5, 000.00 for continuing the
Tree Program for 2001. Motion passed unanimously.
11. Hamel Water System Issues
Jim Dillman said as a part of work on the 20-year capital improvement program they have been
made aware of some issues with the Hamel Water system. This includes issues with supply
and radon content.
He said one option they would like to consider to fix both of these problems was to install a
higher capacity pump in one well and then blend that water with the water from the well with the
higher radon content. He said this would increase the total supply and keep the total radon
within acceptable levels.
Dillman said what they would like to do at this point is to have Bonestroo assist in conducting an
investigation or a FIG capacity study to check the feasibility of this particular option.
There was some discussion about other options that would be more expensive if this option was
not successful. Those would then be brought to the Council at future date.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Bruce Workman, to authorize up to $4,000 for the FIG
analysis. Motion passed unanimously.
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April 17, 2001
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12. Issues Concerning the Final Plat of Wild Meadows, Residential PUD #1
Ron Batty said during the past six to eight weeks, staff has had a number of meetings with and
without the developer to resolve many of the outstanding issues relating to the final plat.
Included in the packet was a memo updating the Council on the status of several outstanding
issues as well as those that have been resolved. If the Council has any questions, we can
address those issues in further detail. If not, there are only two issues that we would like to
address in greater detail. One is the letter of credit, and the other is monitoring the stormwater
treatment train.
Batty said this has been a very complicated development to review. In normal situations, he
would have the Council authorize staff to bring back a resolution for final plat approval at the
next meeting. In this case, staff may bring back in a resolution in four weeks instead of two
weeks, if several of the remaining issues cannot be worked out in time for the May 1 Council
meeting.
Ron Batty said the letter of credit was discussed at length at the last Council meeting. Since
then, the City engineer and the developer have finalized a number that they are comfortable
with, $2,260,000. He said, typically, letter of credits are reduced as construction progresses. In
this case, the letter of credit would be held throughout the first phase of construction.
Tom Kellogg explained how the amount for the letter of credit was determined. He said the
$2.26 million included 100c/0 of the cost of grading the north and south portions of the project,
50% of the total cost for the streets and utilities, and 100% of the cost of restoration for both the
north and south portions of Wild Meadows. He said that total was then multiplied by a factor of
1.5 to come up with the $2.26 million number.
Kellogg believed that would be adequate funding for the City to tie up and finish any remaining
issues that may or may not need to be completed if the developer were to go bankrupt or were
to stop the development based on financial considerations.
Kellogg reiterated that the letter of credit would not be reduced until all of the utility work was
done and a vast majority of the project was complete, including seeding and sodding.
There was a question about whether or not this was acceptable to the developer.
Marc Anderson said it was.
Tom Kellogg reminded the Council that the letter of credit started at around $4.5 to $5 million,
and is now been reduced to $2.26 million.
Moved by Bruce Workman, seconded by Carolyn Smith, to approve the letter of credit amount
and method for additional into the developer's agreement. Motion passed unanimously.
13. Monitoring
Ron Batty said significant progress had been made with regard to monitoring. He said the
Council was provided a memo summarizing the monitoring discussion between staff and the
developer.
Tom Kellogg summarized some of the history of the monitoring. He said that Applied Ecological
Services (AES) had applied for, and received a $75,000 matching grant for monitoring from the
Met Council.
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He said there were some concerns that some of the monitoring being proposed could be
conducted in a better way. Additionally, there were significant concerns that the monitoring
would not adequately measure the stormwater treatment trains contribution to the reduction of
phosphorus.
Tom Kellogg explained some of the other issues remaining with regards to monitoring. He said
another issue was the duration of the monitoring, especially after build out of the development.
Currently, the grant was for five years, staff was looking for some additional years. At this point,
the developer has agreed to extend the monitoring for three years after build out.
Phil Zietlow said that he had some concerns with the duration. He said that three years is the
absolute minimum because there could be easily three drought years or wet years. He said
often three years is not enough time to adequately monitor an area.
Tom Kellogg said that Rich Brash's main concern was phosphorus.
Phil Zietlow agreed and asked why bother really monitoring anything else. Phosphorus is the
most important issue.
Marc Anderson said that part of the reason that AES is monitoring other items besides
phosphorus is because they are looking at issues relating to total water quality and will be
comparing this data to other national studies they are conducting.
Anderson said he understood that build out was to be defined by as the time when 80% of the
lots had been sold. He said at that time, the additional three-year time period would begin.
Generally, staff was directed to continue to work on extending the term of the monitoring and to
insure that the monitoring conducted would determine the effectiveness of the stormwater
treatment train to reduce phosphorus.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to authorize preparation of the final plat
resolution for Wild Meadows to be brought back to the Council in two weeks or four weeks as
determined by staff. Motion passed unanimously.
14. Ordinance Relating to Telecommunications Towers
Paul Robinson said that Jim Lane had asked for this item to be placed on the agenda.
Robinson said staff had not prepared anything for this item.
After some discussion, the Council was able to determine that the main issue was the
modification of the definition of the essential services. Ron Batty pointed out that the current
definition of essential services could be construed to include telecommunications towers even
though another section in the ordinance may prohibit them.
The Council direction was to have Ron Batty make changes to this definition so as not to
include telecommunications towers, and to move forward with a public hearing to fix the
ordinance.
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15. Planning Commission Appointment
Paul Robinson said that Robert Hopper was not able to continue as a Planning Commissioner.
He had a job that is going to take him away for months at a time, and regrettably would not be
able to continue.
Robinson asked if the Council would like to advertise or consider three candidates, two of which
were left over from the previous round.
The Council wanted to advertise for candidates and have this brought back at a future meeting.
16. Financing Issues for the TH 55 and Willow Intersection Improvement
Robinson said there are a number of issues with financing. He said after looking into the City's
fund balances, he passed out a current copy of the fund balances; no one fund really has a
significant surplus. He said the general fund has the largest fund balance and would be the
most likely candidate for financing.
He said using these funds might tie up more of the City's available cash than the City would like,
especially if other projects come up where assessments are not as feasible.
There was some concern about the financing costs involved for bonding.
Bruce Workman thought that they looked very high as did other Council members.
Paul Robinson said that he used a worst -case scenario for this analysis and would Zook for ways
to lower the financing costs such as private bond placement.
Robinson said there are two other issues on which the Council will need to act tonight in order
for him to move forward with the assessment notices.
One is to settle on the interest rate, and the other is on a term. To date the term used has been
five years. He said staff provided new information on interest rates and would recommend a
rate between 6.5% and 7.5%.
Robinson said the interest rate could be reduced in the future, so it is better to err on the high
side.
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by Bruce Workman, to set the term at five years and the
interest rate at 7.5%. Motion passed unanimously.
Robinson said there was one more issue; the deferment schedule. He said, currently, for
developed property within the primary or secondary area the assessment was take place in
years 1 through 5. Undeveloped properties in the primary area would run in years 5 through 10
and any undeveloped in the secondary area would then run in years 10 through 15. At any
time, if development occurs the assessment would run for five years.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to approve that deferment plan. Motion
passed unanimously.
Phil Zietlow said that Dale Johnson was in attendance. He said that Mr. Johnson has some
concerns with the assessment.
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April 17, 2001
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Dale Johnson said he had written a letter to the City Council about the assessment. He said
that he was told not to use the Willow and TH 55 intersection and there are several times of the
year when Pioneer Trail is posted which limits his use of Pioneer Trail and would limit his
access Willow Drive.
There was some discussion about whether there would be a benefit to Mr. Johnson's property.
The consensus was that there would be some benefit to Mr. Johnson's property; there was
some indecision about whether he should be in primary or secondary area.
Then was some discussion concerning Prairie Drive and whether or not Mr. Johnson would
primarily use Prairie Drive once constructed.
Carolyn Smith said that because Hennepin County was constructing Prairie Drive to Mr.
Johnson's property, he would primarily be using Prairie Drive and accessing Arrowhead and TH
55 intersection. It does seem to make sense, as staff had previously suggested, that this area
be considered part of the secondary area, and not the primary area.
Tom Kellogg explained why staff had originally recommended a secondary area. He said that
the original secondary area, which also includes Midland Nursery, was an area where it was
determined the properties would receive the lesser benefit. He said Midland would receive the
benefit of the timing of the lights, but that they would not have direct access to the signal from
their property. He said the DMJ properties were also included in the secondary area because
staff believed that Prairie Drive would be at least a shared access; that half of the time the traffic
would use TH 55 and Willow, and the other half would use Arrowhead and TH 55, if not more
than half, where Walter G. Anderson and Rockier, in the primary area, would have a large
percentage of their traffic using the TH 55 and Willow Intersection.
Moved by Carolyn Smith, seconded by Phil Zietlow, to use the original secondary and primary
areas. Those voting in favor: Phil Zietlow, Carolyn Smith. Those opposed: Bruce Workman,
Jim Lane, and John Ferris. Motion failed.
17. Request to Extend Internship
Paul Robinson said that Todd Larson's internship is coming to an end at the end of this week.
He said he was proposing three alternates for extending his employment for the City Council to
consider.
Robinson said that Mr. Larson has provided a great benefit to the staff, he has learned a great
deal about the City, and could provide a great benefit to the City if he was retained in
employment.
Robinson said one of the alternatives would be to extend his internship for two months and use
up the remaining 2001 intern budget. Another option would be to hire Todd Larson as a
permanent full-time employee. The third alternative was any type of employment in between.
Robinson said he realizes that adding another full time staff person has not been brought before
the Council before, but if the Council was willing to consider this option, he could provide some
additional rationale at the next meeting.
Jim Dillman said he supported hiring Larson as a full-time employee. He said we have a lot of
computer equipment which needs to be used. Somebody has to run it.
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2001
103
After some discussion, the consensus of the Council was to extend Larson's internship for six
months.
Moved by Bruce Workman, seconded by John Ferris, to extend Larson's internship for six
months. Motion passed unanimously
Robinson asked the Council to consider an increase in the hourly wage.
Staff was directed to come back to the next meeting with alternatives.
18. Approval of the Fee Schedule
There were some errors in the schedule. These were to be fixed and the schedule was to be
brought back to the next City Council meeting.
19. Pay the Bills
Moved by Phil Zietlow, seconded by John Ferris, to approve the bills, order check numbers
22266-22332 for $127, 730.51 and payroll check numbers 17035-17066 for $17, 834.19
20. Ad'lournment
Moved by John Ferris, seconded by Jim Lane, to adjourn the meeting at 11:25 p.m. Motion
passed unanimously.
e, f,--,,,„/--
JQtfaS B. Ferris, Mayor
Paul Robinson, Administrator Clerk -Treasurer
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2001
104
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Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2001
105
ORDER CHECKS - APRIL 17, 2001
22266 ORCHARD TRUST $880.00
22267 A.T.& T $53.52
22268 AMERICAN EXPRESS $109.67
22269 ASPEN ENVIRONMENTAL $103.56
22270 AWWA $112.00
22271 BARCO MUNICIPAL PRODUCTS $49.27
22272 BUDGET PRINTING $1,256.54
22273 CANDLELIGHT FLORAL $59.25
22274 CENTRAL STORES $317.37
22275 CIPHER LABORATORIES $24.95
22276 DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY $270.00
22277 ELITE CLEANERS & LAUNDERERS $76.21
22278 ERICKSON, ROLF ENT., INC. $3,583.59
22279 FORTIN HARDWARE $34.70
22280 FORTIS BENEFITS $266.14
22281 GENUINE PARTS $374.00
22282 GLENWOOD INGLEWOOD $95.85
22283 GOODIN CO. $457.23
22284 HAMMEL, GREEN AND ABRAHAMSON $2,165.46
22285 HAWKINS INC. $50.00
22286 HENNEPIN CO.TREAS.,ACCTG.SVCS. $439.55
22287 HENNEPIN COUNTY SHERIFF $73.72
22288 HENRY & ASSOCIATES $829.84
22289 KENNEDY & GRAVEN $12,512.44
22290 LAKE BUSINESS SUPPLY $46.05
22291 LARSON, SANDRA $31.11
22292 LAWSON PRODUCTS, INC. $35.03
22293-94 LMCIT $29,196.00
22295 LONG LAKE, CITY OF $3,964.00
22296 MAYER, RANDY LTD $122.03
22297 MDS MATRIX MEDICAL, INC. $34.79
22298 MEDICA $248.00
22299 METRO CISM TEAM $90.00
22300 METRO.COUNCIL ENVIRO. SERVICES $8,515.67
22301 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL WASTEWTR $1,138.50
22302 MIDWEST AUTOMOTIVE $323.33
22303 MINN COMM $30.69
22304 MINNESOTA CHILD SUPP. PYT.CTR. $630.00
22305 MINNESOTA STATE TREASURER $1,885.59
22306 NATIONAL TACTICAL OFFICERS ASN $342.00
22307 NEXTEL WEST CORP $551.25
22308 NORTH AMERICAN FOODS $58.58
22309 NORTHERN ESCROW, INC. $37,542.58
22310 NORTHERN HYDRAULICS $61.75
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2001
106
ORDER CHECKS - APRIL 17, 2001 (CONT'D)
22311 P.O.S.T. BOARD $180.00
22312 PEARSON BROS., INC. $4,063.50
22313 PERRY'S TRUCK REPAIR $8.52
22314 PROTOCOL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. $25.00
22315 PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE CO. OF AM $131.90
22316 QWEST $104.00
22317 REYNOLDS WELDING $26.41
22318 RUFFRIDGE JOHNSON EQUIP. CO. $38.50
22319 SAMARITAN TIRE CO., INC. $279.12
22320 SKYWAY PUBLICATIONS, INC. $923.75
22321 STRETCHER'S $645.80
22322 TALLEN & BAERTSCHI $2,328.08
22323 THIBAULT ASSOCIATES $6,565.00
22324 TWIN CITY WATER CLINIC $20.00
22325 VALVOLINE FLEET SERVICES $105.84
22326-27 VERIZON WIRELESS $236.74
22328 VICTORY CORPS $54.56
22329 WRIGHT-HENNEPIN ELECTRIC $74.69
22330 XCEL ENERGY $2,151.07
22331 XEROX CORPORATION $657.45
22332 ZIEGLER, INC. $68.77
Total Checks $127,730.51
PAYROLL CHECKS — APRIL 9, 2001
17035-17050 Voided Checks $0.00
17051 ROBINSON, PAUL A. $1,306.05
17052 SCHERER, STEVEN T. $1,063.39
17053 MCGILL, CHRISTOPHER R. $1,180.09
17054 ROUILLARD, MICHAEL J $1,255.52
17055 DILLMAN, JAMES D. $1,533.21
17056 DRESSEL, ROBERT P. $1,056.79
17057 BELLAND, EDGAR J. $1,901.74
17058 VIEAU, CECILIA M. $992.64
17059 SULANDER, LAURA L $1,075.51
17060 LARSON, SANDRA L. $997.90
17061 BOECKER, KEVIN D. $247.21
17062 PRIEM, JON D. $1,277.54
17063 CHRISTENSON, JEREMY L. $1,239.65
17064 NYSTROM, JAMES $1,079.57
17065 NELSON, JASON $1,011.53
17066 LARSON, TODD A $615.85
$17,834.19
Medina City Council Meeting Minutes
April 17, 2001